Vehicle-gear.



PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903..

F. E. WILGOX.

VEHICLE GEAR.- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1903.

H0 MODEL.

nlmllll WITNESSES: NVENTOR d Alzamey UNITED STATES Patented September 8, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

VEHICLE-GEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 738,384, dated September 8, 1903.

Application filed June 4,1903. gerial No. 160,114. (No model.) 7

T 0 (ZZZ whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. WILOOX, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mechanicsburg, in the county of Cumberland and State of Pennsylvania,have invented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Gears, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to vehicle-gears; and the object is the production of a gear having the parts comprising the same so adapted one to another that the fifth-wheel members,head block plate, axle clip and yoke, and king-bolt may be applied to or combined with axles or axles and axle-beds which vary in vertical depths.

In gears as heretofore constructed it has been intended that the upper and lower members of the fifth-wheel should be in frictional contact and also that the lug upon the headblock plate and the lug, of the axle-clip should interlock and the latter lug take a portion of the superimposed weight of the vehicle-body. Further, the interlocking of the lugs upon the head-block plate and the head of the clip was designed to relieve the king-bolt which united the interlocking parts from severe strains. The members of the gear proper are generally sold to the trade and for the purpose of being applied to axles or axles and axle-beds which have been produced by different manufacturers and which axles or axles and axle-beds vary in size and vertical depth. Wherethe axle-clip head or lug has been designed to interlock with the lug of the headblock plate, much trouble has been caused by the failure of the several parts to match and fit. In some cases when the upper and lower members of the fifth-wheel have been in contact a loose connection has existed between the head of the axleclip and the. lug of the head-block plate owing to the insufficient depth of the axle or axle and bed which receives the clip. In other cases where the axle or axle and bed has been of too great depth the lug of the head-block plate and the head of the axle-clip have interlocked and not allowed the upper and lower members of the fifth-wheel to come into frictional contact. In other words, it has been found practically impossible to so construct the detachable elements of the gear that the axle-clip lug and head-block-plate lug will come into frictional contact simultaneously with the upper and lower fifth-wheel members each side of the king-bolt. To cure this imperfection and obviate the difficulty above specified, I dispense with the interlocking parts at the king-bolt location and lower the head of the axle-clip, so that when the upper and lower members of the fifth-wheel are in frictional contact an open space will be left between the head of the axle-clip and the lug upon the head-block plate. To strengthen the union of the parts at the center, I use a larger king-bolt than is usually employed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an example of the physical embodiment of my invention, the parts being constructed and combined according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principle.

Figure 1 is a front view in elevation of an axle, axle-bed, and the members of the gear as'they appear when assembled, the upper and lower members .of the fifth-Wheel being in section on a central vertical plane through the axle and axle-bed. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view in elevation of Fig. 1, the section being taken on the dotted line, Fig. 3, at one side of the king-bolt and axleyoke. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the axleclip and axle-bed, showing the perforated lug in the rear of the axle. Fig. 4 is a View of the king-bolt in perspective.

Referring to the several figures, the letter A designates the axle; B, the axle-bed; O, the lower member of the fifth-wheel, made separate in this instance; D, the upper semicircular member of the fifth-wheel; E, the head-block plate; F, the integral perforated lug in the rear of the head-block plate; G, the head-block; H, the lower brace and head; I, the axle-yoke; J, three holes in the axleyoke; K, a recess in the lower surface of the axle-yoke to receive the brace-head; L, the three-pronged axle-clip; M, the three prongs of the clip; N, nuts on the three prongs below the yoke; O, the perforated king-bolt lug or head of the clip made integral therewith;

ICC

nut on the end of the king-bolt which bears against the brace-head, and T represents an open space between the lug on the head-block plate and the head or lug of the axle-clip.

On reference to the drawings it will be seen that the upper and lower members of the fifthwheel are in contact and receive the weight of the body, while the head of the axle-clip at the center does not take any of the weight, inasmuch as it is out of contact with and does not interlock with the lug upon the rear of the head-block plate.

It is obvious that the gear may be applied to axles or axles and beds of different vertical depths without the necessity of refashioning the axle or any part or parts of the gear proper.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination in a vehicle-gear, of an axle or axle and bed; an integral clip having a perforated head 0 in the rear of the axle; a perforated axle-yoke secured to the clip; a perforated brace-head; a head-block plate having a perforated lug at its rear edge; upper and lower fifth-wheel members; and a kingbolt passed through the lug of the head block plate, the head or lug of the clip, the axleyoke, and the brace-head, and secured in position; the upper and lower members of the fifth-wheel being in frictional contact, and the lug upon the head-block plate and the head or lug of the clip being separated or disengaged; in substance as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK E. WILCOX.

Witnesses:

M. E. ANDERSON, F. R. PECKMAN. 

